Enough preliminaries, let's get down and dirty with some good soccer talk. Betters and fans, lend me your ears, as we're about to dissect two J1 League teams, the Yokohama F. Marinos and the Sagan Tosu, recorded as the pre-match favorite and underdog respectively.
Between the pipes, Sagan Tosu's reliance will rest upon Park Il-Kyu who's got quite a reputation with a 7.10 rating and a whopping 16 saves this season. Marinos shift their bet between Hiroki Iikura and William Popp, both having ratings below Park's. However, Popp's track record of 13 saves cannot just be swept under the mat.
As for players of note, Sagan Tosu will be backing Marcelo Ryan and Seiji Kimura who've been delivering impressive performances. Ryan's accurate passing does speak volumes but Tosu will be hoping for more goals than showy footwork. Utility man, So Kawahara, might consider swapping some of those passes for shots on goal, too.
Over on Marinos’ side, it's Yan Matheus and Jun Amano leading the charge. Matheus and his two goals, accompanied by Amano's precise passing will be key players. Ryo Miyaichi is stirring up quite a storm with his two goals as well. Tae Hee Nam's self-restraint from shooting on goal is puzzling given his high rating, however his passing accuracy is immaculate!
Rewinding the tape to some past games, Marinos did seal a win over Tosu previously. Marinos, marked at 7-5-8, have a somewhat better track record than Tosu, who are clenched at 5-2-13. Recently, while Tosu has been on a downward spiral, Marinos too have had their fair share of setbacks. But they appear to be getting the hang of it, seeing as they snagged a tough win over Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.
It's easy to confuse this game for chess given the strategic underpinnings at play that even Beth Harmon would be proud of. Now if you ask me to place my money, here’s how it’ll look, keeping in mind I've only stepped into a casino twice in my entire life:
Albert’s Prediction: Yokohama F. Marinos by 2